Mutated Tao

Li Huowang stopped and looked at Li Sui incredulously. He never thought she would say something like that.

His lips quivered and he shouted, “Don’t butt into the matters of adults! You are just a child!”

Li Huowang began to walk away, then stopped again. “It’s up to her whether to understand me or not. Still, I need to use this chance to shake up the Heavenly Mater so that Miaomiao has the choice at least.”

“Alright, as you say.”

Li Sui’s slowly sank into the earth, saying, “Father, forgive me for my harsh words, but certain issues should be addressed as soon as possible. Dragging things on isn’t an option here.”

Li Huowang’s body glittered and disappeared. He was invisible now.

The palace in Shangjing wasn’t far, so Li Huowang reached it within moments. This time, Li Huowang found Gao Zhijian in the study, where he had been approving proposals and reports. Li Huowang kept the story short and explained everything that had happened.

Half a division later, Gao Zhijian was frowning. Li Huowang said, “I hope the emperors do not forsake the White Lotus Sect for the sake of peace. The White Lotus Sect is so massive that almost every civilian is a part of it. They are integral in every kingdom.”

Gao Zhijian frowned at Li Huowang. “I'm not so stupid enough to do that. There’s no difference between allowing foreign soldiers to run amok in my lands and giving my throne to someone else.”

“Good. I understand the conflict you have with the White Lotus Sect. Don’t worry about it—I’m certain that there’s a way to resolve it.”

Gao Zhijian scratched his head. He didn’t want Li Huowang to get involved with them because he himself didn’t know what to do either.

“Senior Li, what do you think we should do to solve this?”

“I don’t have a plan. I will just sit in the middle and not let anyone kill anybody. We can slowly think about a plan that way. I will destroy the side that crosses the line first—they will have to do it over my dead body!”

Li Huowang then looked up at the ceiling and shouted, “Stop trying to pretend that you’re dead! I’m talking to you too! If you have the audacity to pull off any stupid stunts, I will go to the Baiyu Capital to give you a good beating!”

“Senior Li, can you stop fooling around? Actually, that’s fine. We have a common enemy in front of us, so let’s just set it aside for now. We can get back to it once we resolve the current issue.”

“Fine, let’s do this!” Li Huowang didn’t mind making threats and fooling around if it meant that their plan would work.

Li Huowang asked, “What do you intend to do?”

“This is an important decision, so it’s best not to be rash. We can wait until the other officials are here before we decide.”

Gao Zhijian pondered silently then asked, “Senior Li, are you still sending food to the Qi Kingdom?”

“Yes. Why? Do you still intend to stop me even though I’m sending food from Cowheart Village now?”

“No, I will not. In fact, I will even give them six months’ worth of food.”

Li Huowang was confused as to why Gao Zhijian suddenly changed his mind.

What is he thinking? If the Dragon Vein wasn’t protecting him, I would’ve thought the Sitting Oblivion Dao tricked him.

Gao Zhijian’s explanation gave Li Huowang the answer he needed. “I won’t send only food but also weapons and armor. I will even request the Surveillance Bureau to send out some artifacts, pills, and talismans. They will only need to return them once everything is over.”

Li Huowang looked at Gao Zhijian with a complicated expression. “I know what you are thinking. You want to turn the Qi Kingdom into a line of defense to prevent them from entering the Liang Kingdom.”

Gao Zhijian didn’t give even a single grain to the Qi Kingdom last time, so there must be a reason for his generosity right now.

Standing from the perspective of an Emperor, it was indeed an excellent idea to weaponize the Qi Kingdom and make them fight the Tianchen Kingdom in their stead.

It was an great plan. All they needed to do was to give some food and equipment. In exchange, the Qi Kingdom would deal with the massive headache, and no one in the Liang Kingdom would need to die.

“Why not? Both sides would benefit like this.” Gao Zhijian said, extending his arms. “Of course, I won’t give them anything if you don’t want me to.”

Li Huowang felt something was wrong, but the plan was logical and had no weaknesses. “Fine, just give them quickly. Prepare the things as soon as you can. I will go back and check on them to ensure nothing has happened to the Qi Kingdom.”

Li Huowang took out his spine sword and was about to send out a rift when Gao Zhijian stopped him.

“Senior Li.” Li Huowang lowered his arm and looked at Gao Zhijian.

“Senior Li, humans are humans, while Simings are Simings. Those who are different from us will ultimately have their own agenda.”

“Is that what you’ve been thinking about? What if there was a Siming who was also a human? What would you do in that case?”

Li Huowang did not wait for an answer and returned to the Qi Kingdom.

Gao Zhijian sighed as he stared at the vacant study. The recent conflict with the Dharma Sect had finally ended, but another war loomed on the horizon. Once again, the Liang Kingdom was on the brink of chaos. Gao Zhijian couldn't help but wonder when peace would finally return to the lives of its people.

"It seems we are destined for yet another war," Gao Zhijian murmured.

"We will have to raise taxes again.” He paused, frowning. “No, that’s not possible. We cannot solely rely on the resources of the Liang Kingdom. The other kingdoms need to lend their support too. Summon the officials for an urgent gathering."

“We understand.” A file of old eunuchs appeared from behind the screen as they greeted Gao Zhijian.

Gao Zhijian pondered before he asked, “Things have gotten to this stage. I don’t think asking about what’s going on with Li Huowang is too much, is it?”

“Mm-hmm.” Xuan Pin floated up from beneath the ground.

Gao Zhijian hesitated before he gave out his summons. Soon, an old man carrying a white flag entered the study. The old man’s eyes were completely white as an eunuch guided him.

Gao Zhijian had met the man before. It was the same person whom they had sought to learn their fortune before the war with the Dharma Sect. He was much older now.

“Master, what do you think about the dangers to the Liang Kingdom this time?”

“Hmm…” The old man nodded silently before he kneeled on the ground. He took out a palm-sized tortoise shell written with red runes.

The old man took out eight bronze coins and threw them into the shell, raising it above his head and shaking it vigorously.

As he shook it, the old man mumbled, “Zi, Wu, Mao, You by the roadside, Yin, Shen, Ji, Hai back to their home. Jia, Zhen, Yi, Li, Bing, Xing, Kun, Ding, Qian, Wu, Kan, Ji, and Xun at the gate…”

He was halfway through the chant when the tortoiseshell in his hands burst open. The shrapnel cut open the old man’s hands while the bronze coins, now bloodied, fell onto the ground.

Gao Zhijian frowned when he saw what happened. The atmosphere in the study became very tense.

The old man wiped the blood off his hands using his clothes and touched the bronze coins with his trembling hands. He felt the blood on the coins and shuddered.

Nevertheless, the old man remained silent, carrying on with his task of discerning the heads and tails of the coins. Finally, he kowtowed to Gao Zhijian. "Your... Your Majesty... it is a sign of great fortune.”